ARCOS is the only regional conservation organization solely focused on biodiversity conservation in the Albertine Rift. Its overall goal is to enhance the conservation of critical ecosystems and promote sustainable development in the Albertine Rift through collaborative actions between various regional partners.
The African Union Commission launched the prestigious African Union Scientific Award Programme in 2008 with the support of its Development Partners. Under this programme prizes are awarded to top African scientists in (a) Life and Earth Science and (b) Basic Science, Technology and Innovation. The objective is to recognize, award and honor outstanding excelling African Scientists for their scientific achievements, discoveries and innovations.
There has been renewed interest by development practitioners in Africa in the role of population dynamics in development. This is partly a result of studies conducted to examine the potential of the demographic dividend to accelerate socio-economic development in individual countries and in the continent in general in light of their large youthful population.
Adaptive management is an ongoing natural resources management process of planning, doing, assessing, learning and adapting, while also applying what was learned to the next iteration of the natural resources management process. Adaptive management facilitates developing and refining a conservation strategy, making efficient management decisions and using research and monitoring to assess accomplishments and inform future iterations of the conservation strategy.
Lake Victoria is the world's largest tropical lake and the largest lake in the African Great Lakes region. The lake supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, producing 1 million tons of fish per year and employing 200,000 people in supporting the livelihoods of 4 million people. The major threats to the lake are deforestation, land use change, wetland degradation and discharge from urban areas, industries and farmlands.
Lake Tanganyika is the deepest lake in Africa and is the largest among the Albertine Rift lakes. The basin has a population of more than 10 million people and the population density within the basin varies between 13 and 250 persons per km2. The countries in the basin are among the poorest in the world. Lake Tanganyika also has one of the richest freshwater ecosystems in the world, with over 2000 species, 500 of them not found anywhere else on earth, making the lake their home.
Lake Kivu is one of the two smallest African Great Lakes, but is the third deepest and sits at the highest altitude. Lake Kivu is located in an area with one of the highest population densities and population growth rates in the AGL region. Lake Kivu is home to around 28 fish species, half of which are cichlids found only in Lake Kivu. Lake Kivu is the largest local source of fish in Rwanda, providing more than 20,000 tons of fish per year and subsidizing fish imports for animal protein. The fishery supports 500,000 people in Rwanda and the DRC.
In May 2017, the African Great Lakes Conference: Conservation and Development in a Changing Climate was held in Entebbe, Uganda. This conference sought to increase coordination, strengthen capacity, inform policy with science, and promote basin-scale ecosystem management in the region. Because all of the African Great Lakes cross borders, the benefits they offer and the challenges they face are best managed at a basin-wide level.
The FAO GeoNetwork provides internet access to interactive maps, satellite imagery and related spatial databases maintained by FAO and its partners. Its purpose is to improve access to and integrated use of spatial data and information. Through this website FAO facilitates multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable development and supports decision making in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food security.
The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Network (BES-Net) is a capacity building network of networks that promotes dialogue among science, policy and practice for more effective management of biodiversity and ecosystems, contributing to long-term human well-being and sustainable development. BES-Net is hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and implemented through partnerships with the Norwegian Environment Agency, SwedBio at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and Germany's Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB).
As part of its contribution to strengthening institutional and professional capacity to enable African researchers to fully participate in defining and implementing priority population and health programs in the continent, the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) has developed several research capacity strengthening initiatives.
The APHRC offers the following:
The Africa Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) Alliance works to increase the uptake of CSA practices, particularly on the most vulnerable rural communities. Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) describes agricultural practices, approaches and systems that sustainably and reliably increase food production and the ability of farmers to earn a living, while protecting or restoring the environment. The combined effects of climate change, inequity and population pressures are escalating the food and nutrition security and income challenges faced by Sub-Saharan Africa 's smallholder farmers.
This Story Map focuses on seven of Africa’s Great Lakes (Albert, Edward, Kivu, Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa, Tanganyika, Victoria, Turkana) and highlights key biophysical and socioeconomic characteristics designed to stimulate discussions around development and conservation of the lakes and their basins, especially in the face of increasing variability and change in climate.
As part of an IUCN-led project, this document outlines optimal solutions for a critical sites network that best represents freshwater biodiversity in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB). Using this approach the authors provide a foundation for species conservation through site protection whilst also maximising species climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods.
The Great Lakes of Africa help to sustain the economies of several East African nations. Changes in the condition of these lakes is of great concern. The objective of this research was to examine long-term variations of precipitation in the Great Lakes region. Rainfall over the catchment was assessed for Lakes Albert, Edward, Kivu, Malawi, Tanganyika, Turkana, and Victoria, using gauge data. In most cases over 100 years of record are available. Assessments were also made for the region as a whole. TRMM satellite estimates of precipitation were also used to examine the years since 1998.